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Campolo, Middleton & McCormick is delighted to announce the successful acquisition of our client, a New York based architecture firm, by a leading architecture and engineering conglomerate.

Our client has been in business for over four decades and is recognized for building notable commercial and residential projects throughout the region. The strategic buyer has a distinguished portfolio of well-established architecture and engineering brands.

CMM Partner Vincent Costa led the deal team with assistance from Alex Tomaro. Through the negotiations, CMM worked closely with multi-family office Strata Alliance and M&A advisory firm Protegrity Advisors.

Congratulations to our client and we wish them continued success on this exciting new chapter!

Senior Partner Scott Middleton and Senior Associate Rich DeMaio have obtained a favorable decision for their client, a homeowners association surrounding a horse farm in Bridgehampton.

On behalf of the plaintiffs, Two Trees Homeowners Association, CMM sought a preliminary injunction from the Court that would prevent the defendant, Hayground Road Development LLC, from continuing construction that would violate longstanding easements, covenants, and restrictions on the property. The Court granted the relief CMM sought, noting that the plaintiffs satisfied their burden to show clear evidence of their entitlement to the preliminary injunction. This decision brings the Two Trees Homeowners Association one step closer to permanently enjoining the horse farm from expanding their operation and encroaching on the rights of the HOA.

For assistance with East End matters call us at (631) 738-9100.

By Ed Moltzen, Contributing Writer, LIBN

The construction and contracting trades have been among the most vibrant on Long Island for the past several years, as new housing and related projects have unfolded amid a run of economic expansion.

But new rounds of tariffs from Washington, D.C., are proving vexing for firms whose work relies on stable pricing of supplies ranging from Canadian lumber to aluminum to steel.

The result: General contractors and subcontractors may be searching for remedies to protect them from unanticipated price surges as suppliers pass the cost of new tariffs down the supply chain.

Long Island legal experts say the key to navigating choppy tariff waters will be to address them, where possible, upfront in contracts with provisions specific to wild, tariff-driven price fluctuations.

For bigger construction-related firms, that could be the difference between profit and loss on a project. For smaller construction firms, a sudden price hike from tariffs could put them out of business.

“The challenge you have is…contracts that are signed today; the work doesn’t start for another month or two,” said Donald Rassiger, a partner at Campolo Middleton & McCormick, LLP. And in that time, tariffs could be enacted, pulled back or even increased.

That’s why price flexibility in contracts—to account for that uncertainty—can save a contractor big bucks down the road.

Customers may otherwise say, “You put a lump sum price in for this…I’m holding you to your price,” Rassiger added.

Other issues include the potential for significant product shortages, as demand for domestically produced items overwhelms the supply. During the pandemic, a similar crunch happened four and five years ago, and some remember well the crunch to obtain goods to meet contractual obligations.

However, at that time, courts were also closed due to the pandemic, so the number of breach-of-contract lawsuits was minimal, meaning contractors and customers had to work it out as best as they could in many situations. Now, courts are open for business, so negotiating contracts in advance to take the uncertainty of tariffs into account is essential.

“Yes, there are some cases that get litigated,” Rassiger said. “I’ve had my fair share of them over the years. I would say, for the most part, these issues do eventually get worked out between the contractors and the owners. But there are instances where they proceed, and I’ve had my fair share of arbitrations over the years over these issues.”

Read the full article here.